The Atwoods
by ocobsessedrachel2
Summary: We've heard all about The Cohen family... now what is going on with the Atwoods?Companion piece to The Cohens.


**Thanks for the lovely reviews! I know it's been a while but I was at camp for a month and I just got home. This is the _Atwood_ family. Sequel to my other story, _The Cohens_. I may make another chapter later (depending on your thoughts) weather the two families should interact with each other. This Atwood part is a little more dark…**

Marissa shivered in her bed and rolled onto her side, bringing the covers closer. It was an unusually cold night Newport and Marissa Atwood was having an awful time sleeping. She snuggled up closer to her husband of 16 years spooning him, quite like she had so many years ago in the Tijuana motel.

Marissa didn't understand how Ryan could sleep so well when so many things were wrong. Everything had been going so well for the first few years.

They had taken a couple years to travel, just her and Ryan facing the whole world. When they were just 18 Marissa gave birth to a son, Zachary. They had come back to Newport with Zak to find Seth and Summer with a whole bundle of children and successful careers. Kirsten Cohen had helped Ryan get a job as an architect for designing the new Newport Group buildings and Marissa had gotten a job in Fashion Merchandising. Everything had been great for a few years… and then it got bad.

When Marissa was 28 she and Ryan decided that it was time to try for another baby. So they tried… and tried… and tried, but nothing happened. After going to a fertility clinic Marissa happily found out that she was pregnant with twins, and she couldn't have been more pleased. Everything was going along beautifully in her life, much unlike her troubled childhood. But nine months later it all started. Marissa ended up giving birth to an unborn daughter and an autistic son. She remembered sobbing for days. Why had this happened to her? Seth and Summer had the perfect life at this point. They were 28 years old with 9 beautiful children. And Marissa and Ryan who had started off with twins now had a son with a serious mental handicap and a 10 year old.

Nonetheless Marissa kept positive. She and Ryan had decided to give their son, Adam, the best possible life he could have. And for 3 years Adam was raised as normally as possible. Sure things were hard; Adam's learning rate was 3 times slower than the average child; but they managed.

Unfortunately things were not so easy for Zach, who, at age 13 was beginning to feel neglected. In the beginning he had understood that Adam had special needs, but now, 3 years later it was getting a lot harder to be ignored. Everything was always about Adam. There were times when Zach would spent days over at his cousins house and his parents wouldn't even notice. It was then that Zach had, had enough. So he rebelled. He began skipping school and going to parties. He got in the wrong crowds and drank illegally. By age 15 Zach was a full fledged bad boy, and not in the good Ryan Atwood style. He got arrested for illegally selling cocaine and was thrown into juvie after a year in rehab.

Then, 3 years ago Marissa had given birth to a beautiful, happy, healthy baby girl who they named Angel. Finally there was someone in their house who they could just take a break with. A good natured baby girl who, at just 3 years old was **an** Angel herself.

But then there was the constant worrying. Would Angel grow up and take after her messed up older brother? Would she be successful? Would she complete school? So much pressure would be riding on Angel. She was the only child in the Atwood household so far that had any chance of pleasing her parents.

Marissa sighed and closed her eyes again, willing herself to forget her problems and fall deep into sleep. But it wasn't working. Exhaling deeply Marissa got out of bed and made her way over to the bathroom where she grabbed her bottle of sleeping pills, popped two in her mouth and walked back over to the bedroom. It was another problem, Marissa's growing dependency on these pills. As much as she would deny it and say that she had insomnia issues, she knew, deep down, that it wasn't the case. She had started using the pills to get away from her rocky, depressing life. They were a way to escape from it all.

As the Ambien began to kick in, Marissa felt herself relax. All of her tensions were released and she could feel herself falling, falling, falling. And then everything went dark as sleep filled her body. And this was the moment when Marissa enjoyed life the most; sleep.

**Very short, but I thought that if you know the Cohen story, then you should know the Atwood one! Tell me if you want a Cohen-Atwood combined story, or something like, _Growing up with –_ (either family, from the beginning). Thanks!**

**Xoxo**

**Rachel**


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